Visible Vote 08

The Visible Vote 08 Presidential Forum starts in a few minutes. The event is sponsored by the pro-gay groups HRC and LOGO.You can watch it at visiblevote08.logoonline.com. I will be liveblogging the event. Pam Spalding will be hosting a chat on her site.

And we are starting. I can't see the candidates.

The candidates are being introduced one at a time. Barack Obama is first.

Obama states he is for a "strong version of civil unions." He does not believe churchs should be forced to recognize civil union. Short version: separation of church and state.

Obama wants civil unions to have the same legal rights has marriage. He mentions Loving v. Virginia.

The moderator Margaret Carlson points out many will view civil unions as less than marriage.

Melissa Etheridge is a panelist. She says she humbled to be there as a privileged rock star. She tells Obama that he is a great orator.

Obama gets a laugh by calling himself a "hopemonger." It is a good pun.

Etheridge tells Obama don't be afraid to make change.

Pam Spalding takes Obama to task.

Margaret Carlson again presses on the fact that marriage is not just a matter of semantics. Obama feels that civil unions can be enforced as equal to marriage (he still cannot define why marriage has to be separate).

Obama addresses the need of the black community needs to get over it's fear of homosexuality. Obama stresses that homophobia keeps the black community from being properly getting educated on HIV. I would say sex education, as a whole, needs to be addressed.

Obama's time is running out. Each candidate gets 15 minutes.

Good! Obama endorses condom distribution.

John Edwards: come on down.

Edwards does a lot of handshaking.

Melissa Etheridge asks Edwards if he understands that gay and lesbian couples can't depend on their spouses health coverage because they are not legal spouses. Edwards goes into a horrifying story about young gay men and women kicked out of their homes because they come out of the closet.

Etheridge asks if public schools should teach LGBT. Edwards answers yes and endorses gay adoption. Both will be a hard sell in the red states. Republican operatives will see red meat.

Jonathan Capehart asks why the gay community should trust him. Edweards was silent in 2004 on the gay marriage amendment.

Edwards talks about Elizabeth taking on Ann Coulter. Edwards compares Coulter to the racism he saw in the South growing up.

Susan Stanton is in the house.

Joe Solmonese ask Edwards about his religious views against gay marriage. Edwards says would not impose his faith on LGBT issues.

Solmonese isn't satified with Edwards answer. Edwards states he hasn't changed on same sex marriage. He is against don't ask don't tell.

Edwards comes out in support of hate crimes in his closing statement.

Good God! Dennis Kucinich is up next.

This is a mutual lovefest between Kucinich and the panelists. Group hug everyone.

Etheridge tells Kucinich tells him she was warned not to fawn over him.

Pam has a more up-to-date post at Americablog.

Kucinich stresses sex education and funding.

Kucinich uses 1 + 1 = 2 as a metaphor. Feel pounding headache coming on.

Jucinich tells the crowd he loves them all. He is being cheered like a rock star.

Mike Gravel, Bill Richardson and Hillary Clinton are up next. All other candidates turned down the event.

Gravel is up. Please don't talk about the flat tax.

Etheridge points out that Gravel is unusual for his generation for supporting same sex marriage.

Gravel teases Joe Solmonese for not wanting him at Visible Vote.

Gravel attacks Clinton, Obama and Edwards for not supporting same sex marriage. He accuses them of playing it safe.

Gravel calls the label civil unions demeaning to gays.

Gravel comes out in favor of legalizing marijuana and hard drugs. I'm against this. America is not New Amsterdam.

Bill Richardson is up.

Richardson comes out couragously for civil unions because it is achievable. Short answer: don't expect Richardson to spend political capital on LGBT issues.

Jonathan Capehart asks Richardson about an Imus Show appearance where Richardson jokingly called an Imus staffer faggot in Hispanic. Richardson admits he made a boo boo.

Richardson is putting the crowd to sleep.

Richard is asked if the New Mexico legislature gave him a same sex marriage bill would he sign it. Richardson is ducking the question. Joe Solmonese repeats the question. Richarson says his heart isn't there yet.

Hillary Clinton is up. She is boring me and I am getting tired.

Hillary says she views being against gay marriage as strongly being for civil unions. She's joking. The crowd laughs.

Hillary uses the states right issue against supporting gay marriage. George Wallace used that same argument.

Etheridge tells Hillary that the Clinton administration threw the LGBT community under the bus.

Susan Stanton is being interviewed post-debate.

Pam sums up Richardson's performance.

Summary: He talks about Melissa's battle against breast cancer and her Oscar for the song for An Inconvenient Truth. [Oh boy, he's really blown this.]

Susan Stanton For Congress?

Now this is interesting. The St Petersburg Times is implying Susan Stanton may challenge Vern Buchanan for his seat.

A career change also might be in her future. Stanton said she's not sure what her next step will be, but her recent experiences have led her to think about going into educational administration or maybe even running for Congress.

"I actually enjoy getting out meeting folks and connecting with people in ways I never thought I would," she said.

Stanton is a registered Republican. In the unlikely chance that she beat Buchanan in the primary; he would most likely face Christine Jennings as his challenger. It would be interesting to see which candidate progressives root for.

The St. Petersburg Times failed to mention that Stanton took a shot of the media's superficial coverage.

``Not a single person has focused on what I wear, the type of shoes I have on or the type of necklace I am wearing. It's just not an issue,'' Stanton said before the vote.

I wonder if Stanton is talking about The Times?

Later in the morning, she had her first professional blow dry and manicure.

For the day's events, her hair was styled fluffy on top with wispy bangs in front. She chose a soft rose color to accent her sporty nails. She admired herself in the mirror.

"I could get used to this, " she said, as the manicurist massaged her hands.

That is some hard-hitting journalism.

Old Daily Show Video Revisited

Bob Jackson is a former Largo Mayor. His failed re-election campaign was backed by Stanton political opponents Fred Thomas and Curtis Holmes. Jackson is in full attack mode on Stanton.

So-Called Friends of Largo

Curtis Holmes summitted a petition with 28 names to the Largo City Commission. The petition claimed that Largo City officials hid misconduct from the public. A few angry residents are claiming Steve Stanton's (now Susan) plans for a sex change was an ethics violation. The petition also claims Largo official who knew violated section 2.06 of the city charter.

The petition names Gerard and Commissioner Gay Gentry, along with Stanton, police Chief Lester Aradi, outgoing fire Chief Jeff Bullock, City Attorney Alan Zimmet, and director of human resources Susan Sinz. It also lists Gerard's husband, Eric, and former City Commissioner Pat Burke as individuals whose actions should be scrutinized.

Section 2.06 General Powers and Duties

(b) The mayor or a city commissioner shall report to the city commission all violations or neglect of duty or any misfeasance, malfeasance or nonfeasance in office, or improper conduct on the part of any elected or appointed official that may come to his or her knowledge.

Holmes and his supporters believe "dressing as a woman on city time and conspiring with city employees to keep vital information from the commission." Stanson wanted to wait until his son before coming out. Someone leaked the story to The St. Petersburg Times. Stanton begged the newspaper to hold to story to no avail. He was concerned of how her son would be treated by classmates.

The Largo City Commission voted to start an investigation. Mayor Gerald casted the only dissenting vote. Gentry was extremely emotional during the vote. The Pinellas County Sheriff's office will head the inquiry.

Gentry then emotionally told other commissioners “if you all don’t like that then you don’t need me up here (on the dais.)”

Gentry voted for the investigation.

"I have nothing to hide. You all know it all already," Gentry said.

Curtis Holmes has a history with Mayor Gerald.

One speaker, Curtis Holmes, accused Mayor Pat Gerard of seeking financial gain from the issue. He angrily objected to allegedly being called a “bigot” by Gerard because he had called for Stanton to be fired.

“I said I don’t care if he changes species,” Holmes said. “I made it perfectly clear that I don’t care. I said he should be fired because he kept this a secret. The only issue is what he is doing and whether it is good for the city of Largo.”

Holmes claimed Gerard’s husband, Eric, who runs an advertising agency, was now handling Stanton’s public relations and “I’ve heard there are going to be book deals. There is a chance of profit here.”

Gerard and her husband emphatically denied that they are doing any work for Stanton.

“We don’t do public relations,” Eric Gerard said, pointing out his company handles advertising for large companies throughout the United States.

Things get more interesting. Holmes is the founder of the 527 group Friends of Largo. Pinch-A-Penny founder Fred Thomas gave $20,000 to FOL. Before Stanton announced he was transgender; Thomas tried to get Stanton fired in early 2006.

Pinch-A-Penny founder Fred Thomas pointed at Largo's city manager during a City Commission meeting last August and made a prediction: "You're not going to win."

The millionaire businessman was promoting a plan to relocate his pool supply headquarters to a site near the old Crossroads Mall. City staff was cool to the idea.

Grinning, he told City Manager Steve Stanton, "I'm still in the ring."

Thomas also has different addresses for him homestead exception and voter registration.

But longtime Pasco County Supervisor of Elections Kurt Browning said the scenario doesn't add up. Asked Browning: How can Thomas claim the homestead exemption and vote in Largo? "The fact remains you get your homestead on your homestead - where you live," said Browning, past president of the Florida State Association of Supervisors of Elections. "Two and two are not equaling four here."

Thomas flew then Largo Mayor Bob Jackson to lobby on his companies behave. He contributed $27,500 to Jackson's campaign. Friends of Largo sent out campaign flyers for Jackson. The winner of the election was Pat Gerald. She opposed land use change deal to expand Thomas's Pinch-A-Penny facility.

What a tangled web we weave...

Susan Stanton News

Susan Stanton is one of the finalist for the Sarasota City Manager job. She received a surprising endorsement from the Unitarian Universalist Church.

Stanton met with Republican Congressman Bill Young.

As Stanton and other transgender advocates walked into Young's office about 11:30 a.m., Young told Stanton, "You need to realize that this may be a little awkward for me. I've never dealt with anyone in this situation before."

"This is a little awkward for me, too," Stanton replied.

Young appreciated the candor: "That broke the ice, and we had a nice conversation," Young, R-Indian Shores, said later.

He said he spoke with Stanton mostly about the nondiscrimination bill sponsored by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., who is openly gay. Young said he told Stanton he hadn't read the bill but would discuss it with Frank.

"We talked about a lot of things, frankly very personal, about her experience and the things that have been in the newspaper already," Young said.

Young has not said whether he will support Frank's bill. But he said he signed a commitment that a person's sexual orientation and gender identity would not be a consideration in employment decisions for his congressional office.

I will give Young credit for handling the situation with grace and meeting with someone Christian conservatives, in his own party, have contempt for. We should encourage members of the GOP to follow Young's lead.

Stanton also met with Kathy Castor, Mel Martinez, Bill Nelson and Ted Kennedy.

In other news: the hatemongers are trying to get Stanton's few supporters on the Largo City Commission fired. The commission has asked Pinellas County Sheriff Jim Coats to investigate whether any city officials hid Stanton's possible misconduct. The investigation was launched after a petition was signed by 200 people and delivered to the City of Largo.

These Christian conservatives need to understand the meaning of blowback. They wished to cast out Stanton. The results were making her into a media celebrity who is now lobbying Congress for gay rights. I would hardly call that a victory for the Christian Right.

St Petersburg Times Horrible Stanton Coverage Continues

The St. Petersburg Times coverage of Susan Stanton has been horrible. Now it has morphed into an episode of Oprah.

A blow dry, manicure

Monday night's reception capped a busy day for Stanton, who awoke about 2:50 a.m. She couldn't sleep, so she wrote in her journal for an hour and a half.

About 5 a.m., she went on a run to the Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial and Capitol. Later that morning, she changed hotels after a scheduling conflict, checking in for the first time as Susan Stanton. She had to travel to Washington as Steve Stanton.

Later in the morning, she had her first professional blow dry and manicure.

For the day's events, her hair was styled fluffy on top with wispy bangs in front. She chose a soft rose color to accent her sporty nails. She admired herself in the mirror.

"I could get used to this, " she said, as the manicurist massaged her hands.

Stanton is in Washington to lobby Congress to back hate crimes legislation. You won't find out much about that from the article. You do learn Stanton ate a salad.

Giving the St. Petersburg Times Credit For Their Exclusive

Litbrit wrote about the debut of Susan Stanton. Both Litbrit and I have written about the City of Largo firing Steve Stanton because of his plans to become Susan. I was troubled by tho paragraphs in the St. Petersburg Times article.

He had been Largo's city manager for 14 years. He had rappeled with the firefighters and broken his nose with the SWAT team. When he decided to become a woman, he told only a few people. His wife knew, his son did not. But in February someone told the newspaper.

Then came the speedy firing, and then CNN, the Daily Show and Larry King. Then came the pack of lesbian lawyers telling him whom to talk to, what to say.

The "newspaper" that broke the story was the St. Petersburg Times. They didn't even have the heart to take credit for their scoop. They called the article a "Times exclusive." They failed to mention that Stanton asked them to hold on the story until he could tell his son. The Times went forward.

In February, the Stanton story was an exclusive. In May, the article was published by a unnamed newspaper. How things change in the matter of months.

Side note: is anyone else troubled by Lane DeGregory refering to Stanton's legal council as a "pack of lesbian lawyers." What the hell does he mean by that?